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Benjamin Jackson (January 2, 1835 – August 20, 1915) was a King’s County Advertiser/King’s County Register
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In 1864 he sailed to the United States, during the
King’s County Advertiser/King’s County Register
*
NovaNewsNow.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Benjamin 1835 births 1915 deaths People from Hants County, Nova Scotia Union Army soldiers Military history of Nova Scotia Military history of Canada Canadian people of the American Civil War
Benjamin Jackson (January 2, 1835 – August 20, 1915) was a Nova Scotian
A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...
who became a sailor, farmer, and decorated American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...
soldier./ref>
Early years
Jackson was born at Lockhartville, Nova Scotia, a small village nearHantsport
Hantsport is an unincorporated area in the West Hants Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is at the western boundary between West Hants Regional Municipality and Kings County, along the west bank of the Avon River's tidal estuary. ...
. He married Rachel Cartier of Windsor, and together they had five children.
When Jackson was a young man, Nova Scotia was experiencing a shipbuilding boom. At nearby Hantsport, a major shipbuilding centre and port, Jackson readily found work as a sailor aboard several vessels.
American Civil War
In 1864 he sailed to the United States, during the Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...
. Jackson took the opportunity to fight for the Union Army by substituting for a Lewis Saunders (during the War individuals such as Saunders who were drafted into the army could pay to have a substitute go in their place.) On May 21, 1864, Jackson enlisted in the US Navy and soon found himself aboard the assigned as the captain of the #10 gun crew. The ''Richmond'' was assigned to patrol and blockade the Mississippi River. Jackson took part in the Battle of Mobile Bay
The Battle of Mobile Bay of August 5, 1864, was a naval and land engagement of the American Civil War in which a Union fleet commanded by Rear Admiral David G. Farragut, assisted by a contingent of soldiers, attacked a smaller Confederate fl ...
in August 1864. During the battle he retrieved a grenade that had landed on deck and threw it overboard before it could explode. Mobile Bay was littered with torpedoes
A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...
(during the Civil War a device similar to a contact mine) and Jackson disarmed a number of these which threatened Union vessels. Unfortunately one of the torpedoes exploded, wounding Jackson. After convalescing in hospital, Jackson was discharged on June 2, 1865. He earned the Civil War Campaign Medal
The Civil War Campaign Medal is considered the first campaign service medal of the United States Armed Forces. The decoration was awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces who had served in the American Civil War between 1861 and 186 ...
and was entitled to receive a pension from the US Government.
Jackson returned to Nova Scotia, where he operated a small farm and went to sea again as a sailor aboard ships owned by Ezra Churchill
Ezra Churchill (May 18, 1806 – May 8, 1874): Nineteenth-century industrialist, investing in shipbuilding, land, timber for domestic and foreign markets, gypsum quarries, insurance companies, hotels, etc. As a politician he held positions i ...
of Hantsport.
Jackson died on August 20, 1915, and was buried at Lockhartville, Nova Scotia, in an unmarked grave.
Legacy
The Ben Jackson Road (exit 8AHighway 101
Highway 101 was an American country music band founded in 1986 in Los Angeles, California. The initial lineup consisted of Paulette Carlson (lead vocals), Jack Daniels (guitar), Curtis Stone (bass guitar, vocals), and Scott "Cactus" Moser (dru ...
) in Nova Scotia is named in his honour.
On June 12, 2010, in a ceremony attended by approximately 400 people, including Civil War reenactment soldiers, Jackson's grave site was marked with a commemorative stone.
See also
*Military history of Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia (also known as Mi'kma'ki and Acadia) is a Canadian province located in Canada's Maritimes. The region was initially occupied by Mi'kmaq. The colonial history of Nova Scotia includes the present-day Canadian Maritime provinces and ...
*Canada in the American Civil War
At the time of the American Civil War (1861–1865), Canada did not yet exist as a federated nation. Instead, British North America consisted of the Province of Canada (parts of modern southern Ontario and southern Quebec) and the separat ...
*Black Nova Scotians
Black Nova Scotians (also known as African Nova Scotians and Afro-Nova Scotians) are Black Canadians whose ancestors primarily date back to the Colonial United States as slaves or freemen, later arriving in Nova Scotia, Canada, during the 18t ...
References
Endnotes Texts * Richard M. Reid. African Canadians in Union Blue: Volunteering for the Cause in the Civil War LinksKing’s County Advertiser/King’s County Register
*
NovaNewsNow.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Benjamin 1835 births 1915 deaths People from Hants County, Nova Scotia Union Army soldiers Military history of Nova Scotia Military history of Canada Canadian people of the American Civil War